The present invention relates to an electric system for vehicles, an electric system having plural electric loads for supplying electric power commonly to the plural electric loads, specifically to an electric power supplying apparatus, and intensive wiring apparatus for automotive vehicles.
As various kinds of electric equipment are usually used for riding vehicles, many system of electric power lines are used, for example, for supplying the electric power from the electric power apparatus such as batteries and electric power generator to the electric load.
In recent years, especially for automotive vehicles, many kinds of electric equipment are loaded and their numbers increases remarkably. As a result, there may be an unfavorable case in which an increase in the number of equipment wires in the vehicle gives some constraint problems in applying this kind system to the practical use.
For resolving this problem accompanied with the increase in the number of equipment systems, what is often used is a so-called xe2x80x9cline concentration and wiring systemxe2x80x9d which is a controller having a communication function and an arithmetic function for controlling the individual electric load, in which the control signal for the individual electric load is obtained by numerical calculation and the control signal so calculated is transferred to the terminal apparatus connected to the controller through the communication lines, and thus, some electric loads connected to the terminal apparatus may be controlled.
With this controller, the number of lines required for transmitting the control signals can be reduced and resolve the problems accompanied with the increase in the number of equipment systems.
As for this kind of line concentration and wiring systems, for example, some systems in the prior art are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,771,82, 5,113,410, 4,855,896 and 5,438,506.
However, even in case of applying this kind of line concentration and wiring systems in the prior art, as the electric power to the individual electric load is supplied directly from the electric power line through the fusing fuse, the number of electric power lines is required so to be equal or larger than the number of electric loads. Therefore, in the prior art systems, the individual parts in the vehicle such as the ceiling and floor of the cabin are usually filled with many electric power lines.
In the conventional electric power supply system for the vehicles, what is generally used is a single-sided-earth electric power supply method, in which the electric power supply lines from the electric power supply assume that one part of the vehicle body is used as one side of the electric power supply line. Therefore, in case that any of electric power supply lines accidentally contacts the vehicle body, a short-circuit abnormality occurs.
In order to solve this short-circuit abnormality, in the prior art electric power supply systems for the vehicles, an independent fuse is installed for the individual electric load system, with which a designated electric load system may be protected by making the fuse melted when the electric power line gives a short-circuit and by separating the electric load system from the electric power supply.
In the prior art systems, when the fuse is melted in accordance with the electric circuit abnormality and then, the operation of the corresponding electric load is interrupted, there may be caused such a problem that the safety feature of the whole vehicle system and the comfort feature in driving the vehicle may be partially disabled or fully lost.
An object of the present invention is to provide a new electric power supply system for the vehicles, more specifically to reduce the number of electric power supply lines from the electric power supplying apparatus in the vehicle. An object of another invention is to eliminate the fuse, and an object of yet another invention is to provide a new electric power supply method.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new semiconductor circuit apparatus for supplying the electric power.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a new line intensive wiring apparatus integrated with the electric power supply control system. And furthermore, an object of another invention is to provide a new electric power supplying apparatus for supplying the electric power to the specified electric load in the automotive vehicle.
In order to achieve the above described objects, the following apparatus configuration and its operation method is proposed; a control apparatus for controlling the individual electric equipment or an electric power supply terminal for supplying intensively electric power is located near the position where the electric equipment are concentrated, and the wiring harness to the electric equipment and the control apparatus is limited to the minimum and necessary scale, in order to reduce the number of electric lines for supplying the electric power. In addition, the output circuit itself is made to have the functions as a relay and/or a fuse by driving and controlling the load with the semiconductor switching devices including a protection function, and thus, making the system free from maintenance works, the protection relay and the fuse existing conventionally are partly removed.
And furthermore, by means that distributing and transmitting the electric signal representing the status of the ignition key (engine key) switch as communication data through multiplex communication, the electric power lines related to the ignition key are eliminated.
In the present invention, in the electric power supplying apparatus for the vehicle using the single-sided earth load dispatching method in which the electric power supply from the electric power source to the electric load is performed by supplying the electric power through the electric conductive route defined in the body of the vehicle and through the control unit to which the electric power is supplied by the electric power supply, there are the electric power supply line for supplying the electric power to the control unit, which is formed as a closed loop starting at one of the output ports of the electric power supply and terminated at the other of the output ports of the electric power supply, and is arranged inside the body of the vehicle; the electric conductive body which covers the outer surface of the electric power line and is separated by the individual point at which the control unit of the electric power line connects, and is formed as an independent part along the closed loop; the insulation layer covering the outer surface of the electric conductive body; and a plurality of electric potential detection means for detecting the abnormality of the electric potential change in the electric conductive body, each connected to the individual electric conductive bodies, with which the position of the abnormality is identified by judging which electric potential detection means has abnormality when the abnormality occurs.
And furthermore, in the electric power supplying apparatus for the vehicle using the single-sided earth load dispatching method in which the electric power supply from the electric power source to the electric load is performed by supplying the electric power through the electric conductive route defined in the body of the vehicle and through the control unit to which the electric power is supplied by the electric power supply, and for performing the data transmission between the individual control units through the transmission lines mounted inside the vehicle body, there are the electric power supply line for supplying the electric power to the control unit, which is formed as a closed loop starting at one of the output ports of the electric power supply and terminated at the other of the output ports of the electric power supply, and is arranged inside the body of the vehicle; the electric conductive body which covers the outer surface of the electric power line and is separated by the individual point at which the control unit of the electric power line connects, and is formed as an independent part along the closed loop; the insulation layer covering the outer surface of the electric conductive body; and a plurality of electric potential detection means for detecting the abnormality of the electric potential change in the electric conductive body, each connected to the individual electric conductive bodies, with which the position of the abnormality is identified by judging which electric potential detection means has abnormality when the abnormality occurs, and the abnormality detection result is transmitted to another control unit.